Assessment of Personality

Assessment of Personality

We all try to understand the people we meet — we observe them, talk to them, and form impressions based on past experiences and information from others. But this everyday approach is often coloured by personal biases and lacks objectivity. To study personality scientifically, psychologists use formal procedures called personality assessment. Assessment refers to the set of techniques used to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of specific characteristics. The goal is to understand and predict behaviour with maximum accuracy and minimum error.

Assessment is not just about understanding — it also serves practical purposes like diagnosis, training, placement, counselling, and more. Psychologists have developed several methods to assess personality, each rooted in different theoretical orientations. The most commonly used techniques are:

• Psychometric Tests
• Self-Report Measures
• Projective Techniques
• Behavioural Analysis

Since psychometric tests were covered in the previous chapter, we focus here on the other three.

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Self-Report Measures

Allport believed that the best way to assess a person is simply to ask them about themselves. This idea led to the development of self-report measures. These are fairly structured tools, often based on theory, that require the subject to give verbal responses using some kind of rating scale. The person objectively reports their own feelings about various items, and these responses are accepted at face value. They are scored quantitatively and interpreted using norms developed for the test.

Some well-known self-report measures are described below.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Developed by Hathaway and McKinley, the MMPI was originally created as a tool for psychiatric diagnosis. It has proven very effective in identifying various forms of psychopathology. The revised version is called MMPI-2.

• It consists of 567 statements.
• The subject must judge each statement as 'true' or 'false' for themselves.
• The test is divided into 10 subscales that diagnose: hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, masculinity-femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, mania, and social introversion.

In India, Mallick and Joshi developed the Jodhpur Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI) along similar lines.

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

Developed by Eysenck, this test initially assessed two dimensions of personality: introverted-extraverted and emotionally stable-emotionally unstable. These dimensions are characterised by 32 personality traits. Later, Eysenck added a third dimension called psychoticism, which is linked to psychopathology. A person scoring high on psychoticism tends to be hostile, egocentric, and antisocial — they lack feeling for others, interact in a tough manner, and defy social conventions.

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)

Developed by Cattell, this test emerged from factor analysis of a large set of personality descriptors. It presents declarative statements, and the subject responds by choosing from a set of given alternatives. The 16 PF can be used with high school students as well as adults, and is extremely useful in career guidance, vocational exploration, and occupational testing.

Apart from these popular tests, there are many others that assess specific dimensions like authoritarianism, locus of control, and optimism.

Problems with Self-Report Measures

Self-report measures suffer from several limitations:

• Social desirability: The tendency of respondents to endorse items in a socially desirable manner, rather than answering truthfully.
• Acquiescence: The tendency to agree with items regardless of their content — often seen as saying 'yes' to everything.

These tendencies reduce the reliability of personality assessment.

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Projective Techniques

The methods described so far are called direct techniques because they rely on information directly obtained from a person who knows their personality is being assessed. In such situations, people often become self-conscious and hesitate to share private feelings, thoughts, and motivations. When they do share, they tend to do so in a socially desirable manner.

Psychoanalytic theory tells us that a large part of human behaviour is governed by unconscious motives. Direct methods cannot uncover this unconscious part. Projective techniques were developed to overcome this problem. They are indirect methods of assessment.

These techniques are based on the assumption that a less structured or unstructured stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project their feelings, desires, and needs onto that situation. These projections are then interpreted by experts.

Projective techniques use various kinds of stimulus materials — words, inkblots, pictures, incomplete sentences, drawings, or choices from a large set of stimuli. Despite this variety, all projective techniques share the following features:

1. The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.
2. The person being assessed is usually not told the purpose of assessment or the method of scoring and interpretation.
3. The person is informed that there are no correct or incorrect responses.
4. Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.
5. Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometimes subjective.

Projective techniques differ from psychometric tests in that they cannot be scored objectively. They require qualitative analysis and rigorous training.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test

Developed by Hermann Rorschach, this test consists of 10 inkblots. Five are in black and white, two have some red ink, and three are in pastel colours. The blots are symmetrical in design, each printed in the centre of a white cardboard about 7 by 10 inches. They were originally made by dropping ink on paper and folding it in half.

The cards are administered individually in two phases:

• Performance proper: The subject is shown the cards and asked to tell what they see in each.
• Inquiry: A detailed report is prepared by asking the subject to tell where, how, and on what basis a particular response was made.

Fine judgment is needed to place responses in a meaningful context. Use and interpretation require extensive training. Computer techniques have also been developed for analysis.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Developed by Morgan and Murray, the TAT is slightly more structured than the inkblot test. It consists of 30 black and white picture cards and one blank card. Each card depicts one or more people in various situations. Some cards are used with adult males or females, others with boys or girls, and still others in combinations. Twenty cards are appropriate for a subject, though even five have been used successfully.

Cards are presented one at a time. The subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation: what led up to it, what is happening now, what will happen in the future, and what the characters are feeling and thinking. A standard procedure is available for scoring TAT responses. The test has been modified for children and the aged. Uma Chaudhury's Indian adaptation of TAT is also available.

Rosenzweig's Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study)

Developed by Rosenzweig, this test assesses how people express aggression in frustrating situations. It presents a series of cartoon-like pictures where one person frustrates another or calls attention to a frustrating condition. The subject is asked to tell what the frustrated person will say or do.

Analysis is based on the type and direction of aggression — whether the focus is on the frustrating object, on protecting the frustrated person, or on finding a constructive solution. The direction of aggression may be towards the environment, towards oneself, or it may be tuned off to gloss over or evade the situation. Pareek has adapted this test for use with the Indian population.

Sentence Completion Test

This test uses a number of incomplete sentences. The starting part is presented, and the subject must provide an ending. The type of endings used is believed to reflect the subject's attitudes, motivation, and conflicts. The test provides several opportunities to reveal underlying unconscious motivations.

Sample items include:

• My father ______________________________.
• My greatest fear is ______________________.
• The best thing about my mother is ________________.
• I am proud of __________________________.

Draw-a-Person Test

This is a simple test where the subject is asked to draw a person on a sheet of paper, using a pencil and eraser. After completing the drawing, the subject is usually asked to draw a figure of the opposite sex. Finally, the subject is asked to make up a story about the person as if they were a character in a novel or play.

Examples of interpretations:

• Omission of facial features suggests the person tries to evade a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationship.
• Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over impulses.
• Disproportionately large head suggests organic brain disease or preoccupation with headaches.

Projective techniques help us understand unconscious motives, deep-rooted conflicts, and emotional complexes. However, interpretation requires sophisticated skills and specialised training. There are problems with reliability of scoring and validity of interpretations, but practitioners find these techniques quite useful.

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Behavioural Analysis

A person's behaviour in various situations can provide meaningful information about their personality. Observation of behaviour serves as the basis of behavioural analysis. An observer's report may contain data from interviews, observation, ratings, nomination, and situational tests.

Interview

Interview is a commonly used method for assessing personality. It involves talking to the person and asking specific questions. Diagnostic interviewing is in-depth and seeks to go beyond the replies given. …